鬼の幸運: Oni no Kōun
by Cecil Kain Cerberus
Summary: An oni's good fortune. Does such a thing exist? Yukimura Chizuru, having once lost everything, has no idea that her fate and her clan are tied to a single urchin in a kabuki theatre. Tomo has no idea that the people he has met hold the keys to his past, to who he really was. Past, present, and future shall all be decided on the decisions of two unconnected people. Or are they?


**Author's warning: Note, this is a Kazama/Chizuru fanfiction. It also has romantic/friendship hints towards the other guys. This story follows what happened in Kazama's route, only some years later. This means, that while our favorite characters will show up, due to protecting their identities from the Imperial Army, they go under different aliases. For an idea on some of these aliases, just look them up. I will using history as a source material, but of course, I will take creative liberty and change or add things to make the story more interesting.**

**CHAPTER WARNING - DISGUISED SHINSENGUMI PRESENT. CAN YOU PICK HIM OUT?**

* * *

Yukimura Chizuru, the last of her clan. Her story begins beautifully, like a song, the harmony of her family and her childhood ringing throughout her ears. Cuddled and protected, she had nothing to fear. And then the song turned into a wail of rage and anguish.

Chizuru's village was wiped out. Many members perished in the fires, and those who managed to escape the pyros fell to worse fate, death by sword.

It was a massacre.

It was only a Godsend that Kodo, Chizuru's adoptive father, found her and carried her to safety. Chizuru remembered nothing of the fire, nor of her happy childhood memories. It was blank, a clean plaque, ready for a new story to be written.

And Chizuru did. For years, she was unaware of what she was. Heir to the Yukimura estate. A pure-blooded oni.

It was only when her father disappeared did Chizuru's story begin to take on a new twist. Her venture led her to become friends with the Shinsengumi, masterless swordsmen with awe-inspiring dreams.

But that fragile happiness did not last. A war suddenly crashed on that peace, and worse yet, Chizuru was separated from her friends. Just when things had gotten bad enough, she felt her whole world crumbling when the adversary of the Shinsengumi, an oni like her, appeared.

His name was Kazama Chikage.

Cynical and arrogant, he was the one not only to inform her of her hierarch, but he also informed her of her father's betrayal. He was there at every turn, constantly badgering her to come with him, be his wife, bear his children. Chizuru had resisted him at every step, and her friends were always there to protect her.

But when they were no longer there, and she was about to be taken prisoner by the enemy, Kazama had come to her rescue. Rather than steal her away, he permitted her to travel with him to see the Shinsengumi's end.

It wasn't a horrible journey, but the closer they got to the end, the more apparent it became.

Their quest was momentarily sidetracked when they heard word of Kodo's horrible experimentations, called rasetsu. It did not take long to track him down, and even less to end his reign of terror over Edo. Chizuru remembers feeling cold that day, even when Kazama was kind enough to hold her close.

She was losing everything in the blink of an eye.

Standing at the location of the Shinsengumi's last stand, Hijikata's resting place, Chizuru broke down and wept, cradling the torn, bloody flag of the brave warriors, her closest friends who she had gotten to know over the span of four years.

Then, the dawn begin to poke over the horizon. Kazama made a promise, sealing it with a gentle kiss, vowing to retrieve her when she gathered her broken life together.

Five months later, he kept to his word, greeting her the same way he parted with. Since then, he continued to visit her, and their romantic friendship grew into true love. One night, before Kazama left once again, Chizuru asked to accompany him, as his wife.

That was years ago. Chizuru was no longer the innocent, cross-dressing girl. She was the Lady of the Yukimura clan, wife to Kazama Chikage. She barely looked a day over 25, as did her husband. Such as the power supplied by their pure blood. They had over a century of life left in them, and both intended to spend every moment together, ruling their respective clans together.

It took much effort on Chizuru's part to find the scattered remnants of her clan. It was even harder when she discovered she had a twin brother. She wept, like with her beloved friends before, and the clan tried to comfort her.

Only Kazama had the power to comfort her pain. However, now was not the time to shed tears. She had work to.

She would remember Kaoru well. He will not forgotten, like his fallen clan members and their parents. She will carry their fates on her heart, but she shall not break. She had to be strong, for their sake.

Life became good. Good fortune was returning. She gave birth to strong oni children, and she even had a girl, who she named Chikiro. Such was the tradition to name members of the direct lineage with the kanji 'sen,' meaning 'thousand.'

However, her life ballad was far from over. Somewhere in the streets of Tokyo, formerly her hometown and also once called Edo, a precious gem was waiting, a rare diamond in the rough. Something she had lost years back would soon return, and perhaps, all that agony of her past will leave.

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_July 3rd, 1889 - Tokyo_

The streets of the Floating World were practically active, people bustling through the tight streets, excitement barely contained as merchants, inn keepers, and other businesses called for patrons to engage in the pleasantries found only here.

Mixing in the crowd of kiminos and Western garments, wearing a faded blue kimino, straw sandals, and a straw hat to over his dusty blond hair. Eyes colored like chocolate searched the crowd, looking for his companion. Finally, he caught sight of the boy, his rusty red ponytail visible underneath his own straw hat.

The blond haired boy, no more than seventeen, made his way through the crowd, muttering quick apologizes as he broke through lines of people to reach the red haired lad. It was then the redhead turned, a parcel in one hand, packages tucked under an arm, a single dango stick dangling from his mouth.

Helping his companion carrying the items, the blond haired boy immediately berated his friend, "Really, Shigero? Dango at this time?"

Shigero shrugged absently, now having his free hand hold the single stick. "Oh come on, Tomo. I didn't just get one." He held up the parcel, grinning. "I got enough for you, me, and my dad."

"I hope that came from your salary," Tomo muttered darkly. "Gonzo is a stickler, and he will count every coin."

"My dad gave me the money," snapped back Shigero, munching angrily at his dango. Tomo sighed heavily; the redhead's temper was difficult sometimes to manage.

Lifting his hat up a bit, he turned to Shigero. "We better get back, or Gonzo will send Hiroshi after us again."

Shigero shivered. "I'd rather not deal with that two-ton lug."

The two boys made their trek back to the kabuki theatre their troop was camped out in. Gonzo's Amazing Shows, unoriginal as it is, was home to a multitude of talents. From actors to performers of dangerous arts, Gonzo turned down no talent. At least that was the saying.

Really, the troop was just a place for street urchins and the homeless, with nowhere to go. Gonzo was a cruel master, always barking out orders, always changing things at the last minute to appease the growing mass of patrons to his shows.

When they reached the building, they saw Shigero's father waiting for them, currently sweeping the entrance for future patrons tonight. Looking up, his familiar gold eyes glittered with joy.

"Boys!" he called, waving a bandaged hand towards them. "It's about you two showed up. I hoped you didn't have any difficulty."

Shigero grinned, stick between his teeth. "Nah. We got everything. Hey, look." He held out his parcel. "I got the dango!"

The man laughed jovially. "Atta boy. You know how to make your old man happy." Turning to Tomo, he asked, "I hope Shigero wasn't too difficult to deal with, Tomo?"

Tomo adjusted his load a bit. "It was fine. I got a little lost in the crowd, but your son isn't exactly hard to find."

The older man nodded, opening his mouth to say something when a portly, stunt man barreled past him, despite him being much taller and leaner that the fat man. With thick fingers, the fat man hissed, "Where were you?! I need you two brats to go out and advertise my show tonight! Did you at least get my requests?"

Not flinching at the high pitch wail, Tomo held out the packages dutifully. "We got everything that you wished for, Gonzo-san." Tomo glanced towards Shigero, who, in turn, fumbled through his red kimino for the small coin purse. The fat man snatched the purse away, glaring at Shigero as if the boy was the devil. His round, piggy nose poked in the purse, appearing as if he were sniffing the contents. Whatever he saw over his nose seemed to please him, because he closed the purse and then took the packages with less vice.

Giving both boys a parting glare, he hollered over his shoulder, "Sousuke, train your brat and that urchin some manners!"

Shiger growled angrily, but before he could say or do anything, Tomo held out his arm. Shaking his head, Tomo muttered, "Leave him. He just wants to bother you," before looking back at Shigero's father, Sousuke.

Scratching his head with embarrassment, Sousuke spoke softly, "You boys better do what Gonzo wants. I'll look after the dango. When you're done, we'll eat, kay?"

It was a promise. Tomo and Shigero bid a quick farewell to Sousuke before parting ways, taking different parts of the Floating World to advertise the upcoming show.


End file.
